For Fukui's Sake: Two Years in Rural Japan by Sam Baldwin

Author:Sam Baldwin
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781467924146
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2012-11-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Feeling Foreign In Fukui

The Japanese are generally considered by the outside world to be a polite and peaceful people. Indeed, this is the impression I got from living amongst them. But of course, just like any population of any country on earth, there are those who don’t adhere to our neatly packaged stereotypes. It was my friend ‘Will Spin’ – fellow English teacher and aspiring DJ – who was to draw out violence in a Japanese person that is rarely seen.

Will was enjoying the growing success that a foreign DJ can expect in small-town Japan. Although the country is renowned for being a difficult place for foreigners to find acceptance, there are advantages to being an outsider too. During the sakoku – which means ‘closed country’ – period, no foreigner could enter Japan, nor could any Japanese leave, under the penalty of death. For over two hundred years, Japan locked itself away from the world, imposing this state of isolation upon itself, only allowing limited trade with the Chinese and Dutch. It was not until 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry of the US Navy forced Japan to open its doors through the threat of attack with technological superior firepower, that sakoku finally came to an end.

Foreigners still find it hard to penetrate deep into Japan’s complicated culture, but in this case, Will’s gaijin status was an asset. As a dedicated drum and bass music aficionado who was from the UK – the birthplace of this dance music genre – Will came hardwired with credibility that opened doors which may have remained closed to natives. A form of positive discrimination, it plays on the Japanese fascination with many things Western.

Will practised his DJing constantly. When not working, he could usually be found in his bedroom, splicing together the latest tracks on his record decks. He was dedicated to his art and worked tirelessly to further his DJ career. He played regular gigs at Fukui night spots, appeared on local radio and schmoozed with music industry types (as much as you could schmooze) in a rural Japanese backwater.

I was a big fan of Will’s shows and had danced the night away on several occasions in the sweaty, coin-sized clubs of Fukui city. Unfortunately, Will’s middle-aged Japanese neighbour apparently wasn’t a big drum and bass fan, and this is what led to the attack.

One day, Will was happily bouncing around his bedroom practising his latest set when he heard heavy banging at his front door. Before he could answer, the door burst open and in stormed the neighbour, a large man, even by Western standards. Will’s incessant basslines, which easily penetrated the thin walls of the apartment building, had finally driven the man into a mission to silence the budding DJ.

‘When he didn’t take off his shoes at the door, I knew there was going to be trouble’ Will had told me .

Indeed, it is a massive no-no in Japan to walk into someone’s home without first removing your shoes. Upon realising

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